1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to bicycles having automatically shiftable transmissions operated by a control unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to such bicycles and a method of controlling the control unit and its associated display with at least one switch that is mounted remotely from the control unit and its associated display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bicycles are being equipped with increasingly sophisticated equipment. One type of bicycle now has an automatically shifting transmission. To control the shift timing, the bicycle is provided with a control unit. The control unit, in addition to controlling shifting, also can track and/or calculate distances, time, bicycle speed and the like. The values that are tracked and/or calculated then can be displayed on a screen. This information is useful to the serious bicyclist who uses the information during training and to the recreational bicyclist who can track distance traveled, speed and time spent bicycling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,412, issued on Dec. 6, 1994, to Ming-Fu Chou, disclosed a bicycle meter assembly that had a separate body portion and a keypad. The keypad was installed on a handlebar of the bicycle substantially adjacent to a handgrip while the body portion was installed substantially near a middle of the handlebar. Thus, the bicyclist was able to operate the keypad without removing his or her hand from the handle grip. The keypad was provided for controlling the display modes of the meter. The operator could not, however, effect any changes to stored data with the keypad.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,044, issued on Oct. 19, 1993, to Paul M. Anderson, disclosed an automatically shifting bicycle having a display that could be mounted to a handlebar. The display was connected to a microprocessor and a pair of switches also was connected to the microprocessor. The pair of switches was mounted to the handlebar. One switch was used to increase upper and lower limits of shifting speeds and the other switch was used to decrease the same upper and lower limits of shifting speeds. The switches did not adjust the display but only manipulated the shifting speed limits. A set up switch was provided to alter various values stored in memory. The location of the set up switch was not disclosed, however.
Even with these arrangements, however, bicycles were limited to paging through various screens and information. Bicyclists were required to remove their hands from the handlebars in order to input data values or otherwise manipulate information stored in the control unit of a computer. Accordingly, an arrangement is provided in accordance with one feature of the present invention by which a switch or pushbutton mounted remotely relative to a display screen of a computer and to a control unit of the computer allows a user to manipulate information stored on the computer in addition to paging through various screens of information. For instance, data can be entered and stored for use by the computer through the manipulation of the remote switches.
Furthermore, with the proliferation of computer components that can be mounted to bicycles, the complexity of the bicycle is bound to increase. For instance, a number of additional buttons that require manipulation to control various features of the bicycle and/or computer can be envisioned. These additional buttons or switches then make the bicycle less user friendly and more difficult to operate. Accordingly, another feature of the present invention is to integrate operation of a computer with operation of another component of the bicycle. For instance, automatic shifting bicycle transmissions usually employ up shift and down shift switches. These switches are used in one configuration to control data entry and information review.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention involves a method of controlling a control unit of a bicycle. The bicycle comprises a first switch, a second switch, a third switch and a screen in communication with the control unit. The second switch and the third switch are remotely positioned relative to the screen and each of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch are in communication with the control unit. The method comprises selecting a value setting mode with said first switch and altering a value on said screen with at least one of said second switch and said third switch.
Another aspect of the present invention involves a method of controlling a control unit of a bicycle. The bicycle comprises a first switch, a second switch and a screen in communication with the control unit. The first switch and the second switch are remotely positioned relative to the screen and each of the first switch and the second switch are in communication with the control unit. The method comprises selecting a value setting mode with at least one of the first remotely positioned switch and the second remotely positioned switch and altering a value on the screen with at least one of the first remotely positioned switch and the second remotely positioned switch.
A further aspect of the present invention involves an electrical auto-shift bicycle comprising a control unit and a powered shifting device. The control unit is in electrical communication with the powered shifting device. A first switch and a second switch are remotely positioned relative to the control unit and are in communication with the powered shifting device. A mode switch is in electrical communication with the control unit. The mode switch is adapted to switch the control unit between a viewing mode and a data entry mode. The first switch and the second switch are adapted to initiate movement of the powered shifting device. At least one of the first switch and the second switch is adapted to select a display output from the control unit and is adapted to alter a value stored in memory of the control unit.
Another aspect of the present invention involves a method of controlling a control unit of a bicycle. The bicycle comprising a first switch, a second switch, a third switch and a screen in communication with the control unit. The first switch, the second switch and the third switch are integrated into a housing containing the screen and the control unit. Each of the first switch, the second switch and the third switch are in communication with the control unit. A first powered shifting device is in electrical communication with the control unit and a second powered shifting device is in electrical communication with the control unit. The method of controlling comprises selecting a value setting mode with the first switch, altering a value on the screen with at least one of the second switch and the third switch, controlling the first powered shifting device with the second switch and controlling the second powered shifting device with the third switch.